2014 iPad event predictions: iPod touch 6G, Mac mini and more

We are still a month away until the 2014 Apple iPad event, or so we assume, and while we know that the main part of the keynote will be centered on the new iPads, such as the rumored Air 2 and iPad mini 3, there should be a few more products featured.

If we are to go on last year, then we should expect Apple to announce the release of OS X Yosemite on the very same day, which means that Apple servers could strain under the pressure of users downloading the new operating system, although not anything like they did with iOS 8 last week.

What else could we expect to see? – The last time Apple updated the iPod touch was after the release of the iPhone 5. The significance was how both these products saw an increase in screen size. It is this reason why there has been great speculation that Apple would update its touch in order to reflect another increase in display size.

iPod touch 6G and Plus – Let’s say for one moment that there was going to be an all-new iPod touch 6th generation model, the next question is whether there will be a choice of display sizes? Given that the touch is a portable media player, people might not like the idea of carrying an iPad mini with them, and so having the choice of a 4.7-inch and a 5.5-inch PMP would surely be something to consider?

We might not get what we want, and could wait another year to see the sixth-gen iPod touch, although Apple might have decided to do away with the device altogether.

2014 Mac mini refresh – If there was ever an Apple product that was screaming for an update, the small Mac computer would have to be it. It will be two years next month (same as the iPod touch) since its last update, and in that time hardware has moved along. Current Mac mini owners have been crying out for the option of a newer model, and from what we can make out from our readers, sticking with the current size would be preferred.

There have been rumors that the Mac mini could be reduced in size, although this would sacrifice performance. Many of our readers have said they would rather the same size and an increase in performance with improved hardware to cater for a focus on gaming. Apple has never been one for going too much into gaming, but current Mac users believe that the mini would be the ideal platform to start.

If not this two devices above, then what else could Apple surprise us with? The smart money would be to say a new MacBook Pro, as they did use the iPad event to launch a new MacBook Pro last year. However, we would presume that Broadwell would be the processor of choice, and we know that Intel has had a few issues with its production, and might not be ready to be introduced into computers until late 2014, or early 2015.

One other possibility is a 5K (Retina equivalent) iMac, as there have been suggestions that production has already started, but we would hate to know how much of a premium people would have to pay to benefit from the improvement in display quality.

We don’t have too long to wait to see just what Apple has planned, but if you had to put some money on it, what do you think we can expect to see announced next month during Apple’s keynote?